ICTSI Manila Terminal Ready for Peak Season

The Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), operated by International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), has seen a robust performance as the company gears up for the peak season.

As of May, yard utilization at the MICT remained at 61 percent or well below the 70 percent ideal percentage. During the same month, average crane productivity hovered at 32 moves per hour. These numbers underscore the terminal’s strong performance despite the uptick in container volume as global trade continues to rebound.

“Global container traffic is slowly recovering. As a matter of fact, Southeast Asia and North America have posted the highest average growth at seven percent during the final quarter of last year,” Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI senior vice president and head of Asia Pacific region and MICT, said.

“While we remain optimistic that this trend will continue, I am confident that we will be able to keep up with the pace and accommodate the projected increase,” Gonzalez added.

Last year, the MICT achieved a milestone with its first year-to-date two millionth TEU move, triggering a capacity improvement commitment with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) that requires ICTSI to commission five neo-Panamax quay cranes, 12 reach stackers, and build two new berths by 2020. The expansion and capacity improvement will enable the MICT to service bigger ships, which is now becoming the trend in global container trade.

As the country enters the second half of the fiscal year, volume is expected to surge, with imports starting to arrive ahead of the holiday season. Historical data from the PPA also show consistent MICT volume growth since 2015, with productivity and utilization staying proportionally healthy all throughout.